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A Song Brings Peace to Thoughts of Injustice

This past week, I've been feeling a heavy load, as I've dealt with injustices that I've witnessed, in the lives of the children we serve. The truth is that sometimes I am so close to so many awful things that are hard to witness. The hardest things that I deal with are when children are taken advantage of, or used, or abused by the ones that should be protecting them. I guess it is something like what a soldier experiences when he goes to war. The difference is that I know the battle has already been won when Christ overcame the grave!

I don't get a chance to hear a lot of American Christian music lately, but I really have taken comfort in the words of this Chris Tomlin song. He is singing of a day to come, that we are all living for. I especially like the bridge in the middle of the song. It is taken from John's words in Revelation 5, as he describes thousands of angels singing "Worthy is the Lamb." When I listen to this song, I am reminded that one day Jesus will right all the injustices of this world. I know that many of you can feel the weight of injustice at times in your lives as well. I hope this song brings peace to you as well. Enjoy!

In The Shelter of The Most High

How much money do you think it would take each month to raise 70 kids? Do you think you could do it for $1,800 per month? Without the help of Back2Back Ministries, that is what Casa Hogar Douglas would be forced to do. That includes food, electric, gas,vehicle maintenance, insurance, workers' salaries, school fees and uniforms. 

One of the ways that we are serving this children's home, is by seeking additional monthly support. We are doing this through our Shelter Child Sponsorship program. When you support a child for $100 per month, your money goes to help meet the overhead costs of the home. We currently have 21 of the 70 kids at Casa Hogar Douglas being sponsored under our Shelter Program. This is a huge blessing to this home. We are able to give them an extra $2,100 each month through the sponsors' help. 

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to deliver the money for October to them. The Director, Wyman, showed me the electric bill that was on his desk for almost $1,000 that he would now be able to pay. He also told me they would be able to pay for school uniforms for some of the kids that needed them. These are things that get put off when the money is tight. Most of the 9 full-time workers were waiting in the office to receive their monthly pay. They were glad to see me that morning too.

Raising 70 kids on $3,900 per month isn't easy, but it is double what they would receive without our help. Our goal is to one day have all the children, in all our children's homes, covered under our Shelter program.

The Best Gift is the One Given Away

      Some of the books we purchased

     Inside the New Library at Douglas

We recently received a donation to purchase new books for Casa Hogar Douglas. I'd like to share with you a little of the story behind the donation.

Emily Taylor is a 14 year-old student at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. After participating in a mission trip here, earlier this year, she wanted to stay involved in the lives of the children she met in Monterrey. One of the needs that Emily noticed when she read with the kids in the children's home, was the need they had to read better. As she thought about this, she had the desire to purchase books for their library. Once she knew what she wanted to do to stay involved with the children in Monterrey, she thought about how she could make this possible.

Emily decided that instead of asking for gifts for her birthday, she would ask people to give her money, that she could use to buy books for orphans. She collected $700! We used the money to purchase Christian books for all ages at a local Christian bookstore, here in Monterrey. The store gave us a 25% discount on our purchase so we were able to purchase $1,000 worth of Christian books with the money that Emily collected. 

Before we put the books on the shelves, we prayed for them. We gave thanks for the 14 year old girl who had a God sized dream to stay involved, from over 1500 miles away. And we prayed that these books would help bring a 'Hope for Tomorrow' that these kids did not have before.

Thank you Emily...and Happy Belated Birthday!    You are Loved! 

2 Day Kitchen Remodel

                  The Kitchen "Before"

                    The Kitchen "After"

Along with Mauricio, Rodolfo and Matt, I recently helped my friend Greg do a "makeover" on the kitchen in the Manatiel de Amor Girls' Home. This children's home is home to 12 girls. At Back2Back, we serve in 9 children's homes in the Monterrey area. These homes each have a B2B staff person who is responsible for our involvement with the children's home. While my primary responsibility is with Casa Hogar Douglas, I sometimes help the other staff in the homes that they have primary responsibility for. Greg is the captain of Casa Hogar Manatiel de Amor.

The kitchen was in very bad shape as you can tell by the "before" pictures. We completed the "makeover" in just 2 days. Actually, it was a lot of fun to work together with these great guys! I told Greg afterwards that I believe a kitchen can make a huge difference in a children's home. I think you'll agree with me that the "after" is a big improvement!

Being the One God Uses to Answer a Prayer

Last week, Mauricio and I were working at Casa Hogar Douglas. We were working on a list of "honey do" projects for the caregivers there in the children's home. I always like getting things accomplished on this list because it helps make life a little easier for these ladies who live with and care for these children 24/7. I usually do things like fix lights or plumbing problems or repair doors or  broken furniture. This day, Mauricio was hooking up a clothes washer in the older girls' dorm for their care giver, LuLu. The water hookup was not right on the washer. Each time she used it she had to carry water up from the first floor in buckets to fill it. In addition, there was no electric outlet near the washer so she had to use a very long extension cord to make it run. He hooked a direct water line to the washer and installed an electrical outlet near it. All she had to do was put the laundry in and turn it on to use it.

As we finished up that day, Mauricio told me that LuLu shared with him how she had been praying for some time that this work would be done. He said to me, "I love knowing that God is using me to answer someone's prayer!" I had never thought about it that way before, but he was right. When we submit to God's calling for our lives, many times God uses us as an answer to someone else's prayer. I know that many of you have been used by God to be an answer to my prayers. As I have prayed for God to provide for our financial support, many of you have been the one that God has used to answer my prayers. That is why it is important to be obedient in the calling that God has for our lives. We may just be God's answer to someone else's prayer.

A Rio Child Compared to a Casa Hogar Child

You've heard me talk about the impoverished community that we serve in that we call Rio3. You also have heard me talk a lot about Casa Hogar Douglas, the children's home that Betty & I serve in the most. 

At first glance, it might seem that the life of a child living at Rio3 is much worse than the child living in a children's home. Most of the homes in Rio3 have dirt floors, no permanent electric, running water or adequate roof. Most of the families live on less than $10 per day. That is compared to the child in the children's home who is able to eat 3 meals a day, take a shower with hot running water, enjoy the benefit of electricity at the flip of a switch, rest in a palapa we built and sleep in a bed that is protected from the rain and cold. That is the impression at first glance. 

A more extensive comparison would reveal that most times the heart of the child living in the children's home has been crushed and broken many times in his young life, by those who should love him most. I have witnessed 6 year olds who have not had a relative come and visit them for months. Sometimes, even when a relative does visit, they try to justify the family's lack of involvement by telling the child they have no job or money. Or, they might say that they work all the time and don't have time to visit the abandoned child. I'm not sure which is best for the child...receiving a visitor who makes them feal guilty or not receiving any visitors at all. In either case, there is a great deal of hurt, rejection, pain and suffering that is behind the face of every child that lives in a children's home.

Don't misunderstand me. The child living in Rio3 suffers too. When you grow up not having money for shoes, clothes or even food, it is a difficult life. Sometimes a parent is involved in drugs or illegal activity and the child is abused or exploited. The summers here in Monterrey can see temps as high as 115 degrees and the winters can be a bone chilling 40 degrees and raining. When your house is made out of trash and has little or no roof, it is difficult to ever feel comfortable. On a recent medical trip to Rio3, we discovered a 6 year old girl who could not see out of one eye. The doctors think that she has experienced some type of nerve damage that may be irreparable. All they could do for her was pray. That is just one example of how the poor suffer. In summary, a life lived in poverty, is painful and difficult too.

Betty and I feel called to serve the brokenhearted and abandoned children in Rio3, as well as those who live in the children's home of Casa Hogar Douglas. Both places have great needs. The needs are different many times, but the answer is always found in Jesus. He is the one who can heal broken hearts and provide all of the necessities of life.